: : The men who oppose Totalitarianism without opposing Communism are like those who want to eat tofu without killing the soybeans.

: : Oh come on. Can we agree to stop using that outdated, propaganda term 'totalitarian'. Communism is not totalitarian, it has nothing to do with totalitarianism. Some communist states happened to be totalitarian, others were democratic. in terms of the range of politoical choice, diversity within the media, and access to the ballot, communist states like Nicaragua were far more democratic than the United States. the existence of democratic communism would tend to invalidate the idea that communism is totalitarian. Remember that China and the Soviet Union were only two possible models of communism, among many, and some woudl argue they weren't even communist. Communism and socialism are about achieving brotherhood and human rights for everyone.

With all due respect, the same can be said of capitalism. It is not fascism, though in its worst forms may become fascist. And my use of the word "totalitarianism" is no more propagandistic than your use of the word "fascist." Both are legitimate words.

: : I'm not a fan of capitalism, but why would Brecht have sought refuge in East Germany, land of an equally cruel economical system? Were it me, I'd have escaped to Holland.

: East Germany's political system may have been 'cruel', but I hardly think their ECONOMIC system was cruel. I agree with David Dellinger hen he said, "The Soviet [bloc] is an experiment in economicdemocracy without political democracy, the United States an experiment in political democracy without economic democrcay, and the verdict of teh twentieth century is that both have failed at their objectives."

: Holldand is also capitalist, by the way. Sweden or Denmark are more socialist or social-democrtaic, and would have been better choices.

Alright, you got me there, but I still admire the Dutch for the social liberalism. I'm very fond of Denmark, by the way, having spent some time there.

: You often ask me why I'm not more sympathetic to animal rights. Let me turn the question around; why aren't you more sympathetic to communism?

Au contraire, mon frere. I'm quite sympathetic to communism. If anything, I prefer it to capitalism -- in theory. However, I think democratic socialism is the better choice, given human nature.

Alas, I fear we need to come up with a new label for what is happening in the world, or at least here in the United States. "Corporatism?" "Corporate Totalitarianism?" Maybe just good old "plutocracy."

: : : "Fascism....must be understood as the historic outgrowth of capitalism. The man who opposes Fascism without opposing Capitalism are like those who want to eat a piece of meat without killing the cow. They merely hate barbarism without hating the economic order that leads inevitably to barbarism."

: : : This was said by Berthold Brecht, the famous Czech playwright, who had experience with capitalism, fascism, and communism. he escaped Nazi persecution in hsi native Czechoslovakia, then escaped McCarthy's persecution in America and sought political asylum in East Germany, where he ended his life.